Leaders are Reminders
That might be a new concept for you, leaders are reminders. We hear often that leaders are learners, leaders and visionaries, leaders are servants, leaders are...well you fill in the blank. We don’t really hear that leaders are reminders, but its true. In fantastic book called The Advantage, written by Patrick Lencioni, he said this:
“Great leaders see themselves as Chief Reminding Officers as much as anything else.”
Leaders, we must add CRO, Chief Reminding Officer to our email signature and name placards. CRO must become a core part of our leadership identity so it can flow from us freely and regularly. This is not a new concept that business leaders and authors are discovering, Paul knew this because Jesus modeled it. Check out the opening of Titus chapter 3.
“Remind the people to be subject to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready to do whatever is good, to slander no one, to be peaceable and considerate, and always to be gentle toward everyone.” - Titus 3:1-2 NIV
Remind, a verb - to cause (someone) to remember someone or something. Paul here is telling Titus to remind the Cretans...they already know this, but remind them. This is where we can mess us, often times we think “they already know this...” or “I just told them last week...” etc, etc. We must be great CRO’s and recognize reminding is a key part of our job just like Lencioni says.
Paul was instructing Titus to remind the Cretans of something very specific...we will get into that more tomorrow. Until then, lets make sure today as leaders we step into the CRO role with clarity and confidence from Christ alone. Remember, great leaders see themselves as Chief Reminding Officers! Make it a part of your identity, it’s who you are.
John 20 - The Gospel
The Gospel, the Good News! Jesus, Son of God, was born of Mary, lived as the Son of Man, died, and rose to life to rescue the world and bring about a new life. The central message of the gospel. Jesus, the centerpiece! John 19 & 20 cover the brutal death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus.
In this scene, I can not imagine how the disciples felt. John describes them as overjoyed...but those words just fall short of what I can imagine this moment was like.
John 19 - The Magnitude of the Cross
The day of Jesus' crucifixion fulfilled 28 Old Testament prophecies. Scripture was fulfilled! Beyond that, trying to wrap my mind around what happened this day, on the cross, and fully grabbing the magnitude of the cross is mind-boggling.
Sure, we can dumb this down or simplify it to a place where I just don’t believe it is anywhere near accurate. We can get into penal substitution and argue over was God full of love or was God full of wrath and hate that he killed his son. To me, John 3:16 is pretty clear on the love part.
John 18 - Jesus levels an army
In John 18, we come to the great betrayal. Judas came with the soldiers, officials, and chief priest and Pharisees. We know the scene. But this morning, I saw something I don’t remember reading and surly don’t remember learning about.
“So Judas came to the garden, guiding a detachment of soldiers and some officials from the chief priests and the Pharisees. They were carrying torches, lanterns and weapons. Jesus, knowing all that was going to happen to him, went out and asked them, “Who is it you want?” “Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “I am he,” Jesus said. (And Judas the traitor was standing there with them.) When Jesus said, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground.” - John 18:3-6 NIV
John 17 - The Lords Prayer
John 17 is Jesus looking heavenward and praying to God the Father. So much beauty and mystery in this prayer. One thing that jumps out to me is that Jesus, fully God, and fully man prayed. Jesus is God fully. Why did he need to pray, He was One with the Father, He was God...and yet he prayed. This is so powerful;
“And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.” - John 17:5 NIV
John 16 - What does it take to believe?
By the end of John 16, Jesus had done countless miracles, preached some amazing sermons, transformed so many lives, and developed a close and personal relationship with his disciples. So, when reading these verses, I am just utterly confused on so many levels.
“I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.” Then Jesus’ disciples said, “Now you are speaking clearly and without figures of speech. Now we can see that you know all things and that you do not even need to have anyone ask you questions. This makes us believe that you came from God.” “Do you now believe?” Jesus replied.” - John 16:28-31 NIV
John 16 - Undervaluing God in Spirit
Jesus’ time on earth is quickly coming to a close, and he finishes up his last sermon or teaching to his disciples as they walk to Gethsemane. This final teaching was a heavy one that no doubt left his disciples with a heavy heart. Jesus said it this way;
“...None of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ Rather, you are filled with grief because I have said these things.” - John 16:5-6 NIV
Jesus goes on to say;
John 15 - Constant Growth
We were built for growth, constant growth. From birth, all the way until our death, we were designed by God for constant growth. The problem is, we often can find ourselves stuck in a belief, a phase, or a part of life where we stop growing.
One of the most brilliant investors embodies this understanding. Charlie Munger, at 96 years old, is still learning and growing as a person. I love this quote:
“Knowing what you don’t know is more useful than being brilliant.”
- Charlie Munger
John 14 - The Gift of Peace
John 14 opens with Jesus, saying, Don’t let your hearts be troubled. And the chapter closed down with Jesus saying Don’t be troubled or afraid.
A message that needs to resonate with our spirit and our inner self. This was such a good reminder, reading through John 14 over and over. This passage lifted off the screen.
“But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you. “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart…
John 14 - Troubled Hearts
The world today seems so volatile and chaotic. Everywhere you look, whatever we read and see on TV just seems to be troubling. Last night, I noticed my lovely wife Tweeted this;
“I can’t be the only one who watches the news and is simply embarrassed right now, right? (Dear Jesus, we tap out. Come on back.)”
I find this first humorous, but then I also find it sad. It’s true, watching the news as a Christ-follower is pretty embarrassing. In John 14, we see Jesus…
John 13 - Unselfish Concern
Summarizing John, chapter 13, looks like this. The Lords Supper takes place. Jesus washes the disciple's feet. Jesus calls out Judas, and Satan enters him. Night comes, Judas leaves, and Jesus says he must go, and where I am going, you can not come. To cap it all off, Jesus also calls out Simon Peter and tells him that he will deny and completely disown Jesus three times. Whoa, a really full chapter, and historical day.
Nestled in the wrap up of the day is the parting message Jesus leaves his disciples, a message Jesus is sharing with us right now.